China reaffirmed its commitment to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea at a meeting with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Hanoi on April 17, three days after it seized a Vietnamese fishing boat in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago.

At the two-day meeting of the ASEAN-China joint working team that ended on April 17, the parties all reaffirmed their commitment to fully respecting and realizing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the East Sea, the Vietnamese government website reported on April 17.

The meeting reviewed the implementation of the DOC and discussed ways to coordinate for a more effective realization of the declaration, a statement on the website said.

China's reaffirmation to DOC was made following its seizure of a Vietnamese boat fishing in the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago on April 14.

Duong Nhut, deputy head of An Hai Commune in Quang Ngai Province's Ly Son District, on April 18 said Mai Phung Luu's fishing boat was seized by the Chinese navy force when it was fishing near Da Loi Island in the archipelago.

Another 12 fishermen from Quang Ngai's Binh Son District are still in custody after being detained by a Chinese ship when it was fishing in the archipelago on March 22.

CHINESE TORPEDO FOUND IN VIETNAMESE WATERS

A torpedo labeled in Chinese was recently found in Vietnamese waters off Quang Tri Province by a fishing boat whose crewmembers kept it onboard for ten days before being detected by border guards when they returned ashore.

According to Quang Binh Province Border Guards, guards at the Gianh Port Station found the torpedo onboard the fishing boat when it docked at Gianh Port to sell fish on April 10.

The boat's owner, Nguyen Thanh of Quang Ngai Province, said he and six fishermen detected the torpedo on March 30 while fishing off Quang Tri Province at latitude 16.30 degrees North and 108.15 degrees East.

The border guards said the torpedo was 7.03 meters long and 1.7 meters in perimeter with a three-bladed propeller. It was labeled in Chinese, they said.